Letter: Hendrix Creek residents thank Councilman Hensley

Monday

Feb 4, 2013 at 7:15 PM

Recently a very important zoning request was brought before the Oak Ridge Planning Commission and then forwarded to City Council, (for the third time), that could have had an extremely adverse effect on many residents of Oak Ridge.

To the Editor:

Recently a very important zoning request was brought before the Oak Ridge Planning Commission and then forwarded to City Council, (for the third time), that could have had an extremely adverse effect on many residents of Oak Ridge.

The request was to rezone a small parcel of land in Hendrix Creek from residential open space to residential to permit construction of a house. Hendrix Creek is a planned Unit Development (PUD), a zoning designation that allows smaller lots to be developed in return for open spaces strategically located throughout the development. This results in a higher density of houses than would otherwise be permitted.

The most important issue at stake here is allowing land, originally designated as open space, to be reclassified as residential. This sets a precedent that endangers open space throughout the city. Fortunately, in this case, Council, led by Councilman Hensley, voted 4 to 3 to deny the request. As residents of Hendrix Creek, we really appreciate his support in this most serious issue. The existence of our open spaces and greenbelts should not be subject to the whims of anyone wanting to destroy it.